(Show Dog-Universal Music)If “I Like Girls That Drink Beer,” the first single from country star Toby Keith’s 16th studio album, makes it sound like we’re in for a good time here...you’re right. Though it has a couple of reflective, lost love laments, “Hope on the Rocks” is a spirited affair awash in, well, spirits and a cheerful, devil-may-care attitude. In the title track and opening cut, Keith -- who wrote or co-wrote all 10 songs and produced the album -- plays a bartender, lonely himself, taking care of an assortment of down ‘n’ outers. He’s a bootlegger with parent issues in the gritty Southern rocker “Scat Cat,” celebrates a “Cold Beer Country” where “iced tea won’t cut it and neither will lemonade and gets happy enough to settle his standards a bit in “The Size I Wear,” while the guy in the uppity “Haven’t Had a Drink All Day” still wants us -- and the police officer who pulls him over -- to know that he “got stoned in the mornin’.” The brassy “Get Got” is filled with homespun advice (“Always drink upstream from your own cattle”), and the album’s quieter pieces come with twists -- particularly “Missed You Just Right,” in which the one that got away is a good thing for Keith’s narrator. Keith has, of course, been unfairly typecast at times by his outsize personality, but “Hope on the Rocks” reminds us that, just shy of his 20th anniversary as a recording artist, he’s still a songwriter and performer to be reckoned with.

ROCKNeil Young, “Psychedelic Pill”

(Reprise): Though his “Harvest” style rootsiness may enjoy slightly more favor, a great many Neil Young fans prefer to hear him playing within the unkempt ruckus of his occasional band Crazy Horse. Young has given them two treats this year, and “Psychedelic Pill” hews much closer to the familiar Horse ride than the folk covers set “Americana” did in June. But even this, which spreads nine tracks over two discs, finds Young characteristically exploring a broad stylistic space and challenging his listeners -- whether it’s with the 27-plus minutes of the opening “Driftin’ Back” or the gentle romantic bent of “For the Love of a Man.” Young vacillates between nostalgia, sentimentality and anger here, accenting it all with plenty of the fuzzy, distorted guitar work that’s so well associated with Crazy Horse. After nearly nine years apart, it’s still a tight, instinctual fit that clearly hasn’t run its course yet.

Cody ChesnuTT, “Landing On a Hundred” (Vibration Vineyard): The neo soul singer-songwriter’s sophomore effort comes a full decade after his lauded debut.

The Coup, “Sorry to Bother You” (Anti-): The politically minded collective led by rhymer Boots Riley releases its first new album in six years, with help from Living Colour’s Vernon Reid, Anti-Flag and Rochester Adams alumnus Joe Henry.

Cradle Of Filth, “The Manticore & Other Horrors” (Nuclear Blast): The British horror rock group penned a series of stories about monsters, both actual and psychological, for its 10th album.

Flyleaf, “New Horizons” (A&M/Octone): The Texas metal group’s third album comes out just after singer Lacey Sturm announced her surprising departure from the band.

Lulu Gainsbourg, “From Gainsbourg to Lulu” (MBM): The son of French composer Serge Gainsbourg collaborated with Iggy Pop, Johnny Depp, Scarlett Johansson, Marianne Faithfull and others on this collection of cover songs.

Rusted Root, “The Movement” (Shanachie): The Pittsburgh group moves to a new label wtih an album that blends spirituality with a variety of World Music flavors.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, “Dreams of Fireflies (On a Christmas Night)” (Lava/Republic): The symphonic rock troupe drops a five-song EP as a between-album present for fans before heading out on its annual holiday tour.